When OCD Stains Religion: Scrupulosity and its Effects on Christians

The primary source for this article is Joseph W. Ciarrochchi’s The Doubting Disease, one of the most popular books dealing with OCD from a religious perspective.

Christianity is a religion expressing grace, joy, and God’s love. For OCD sufferers, though, spiritual life can be an angst-filled, tormented experience in which forgiveness, let alone grace, seems impossible. This situation can result from a disorder—scrupulosity, or religious OCD—for which recovery is possible.

Overcoming OCD

Obsessive-compulsive disorder has two parts: first, blasphemous, aggressive or other unwanted thoughts that cause fear and anxiety within the Christian; and second, compulsions performed in an attempt to ease anxiety over the thoughts.

For Christian OCD holders, the thoughts are usually of a blasphemous nature—like, for example, cursing the Holy Spirit or denouncing Christ. Naturally, these thoughts create severe anxiety and worry for believers, who go on to repent and apologize to God for the thoughts.

Why OCD Continues

The more fear one has of the obsessive thoughts, and the more they repent immediately after the thoughts, the more control such obsessions have over them. The Christian with OCD may come to view almost everything they do as sinful, a condition known as scrupulosity, and thus repent constantly for acts whose sinfulness is debatable. Eventually, the Christian is so besieged by anxiety-producing thoughts, and so engrossed in their compulsions, that their spiritual life is paralyzed. This certainly is not God’s intent for any believer.

Overcoming OCD

Christianity is not the source of OCD; rather, it is a medium for the disorder’s effects. One can easily remain a believer in Christ and learn to deal with thoughts against God.

First, one must realize that their unwanted blasphemies against God, and other involuntary thoughts, arise from obsessive-compulsive disorder. The involuntary thoughts may include spiritual content, but their cause is medical.

Thus, Christians who have prayed for relief from the thoughts against God should not be afraid to consult a psychiatrist for treatment and prescriptions.

Prayer, therapy and medication aside, Christians with OCD can also look into exposure-response prevention therapy, which allows one to confront the thoughts while delaying their compulsion (such as repentance) until a later time. For example, one who has blasphemous thoughts about shooting Jesus may try drawing guns for 10 minutes, and wait until after the time has elapsed to repent for any thoughts they have incurred since that time. The delayed repentance does not signify that the believer is okay with those thoughts, or happy that they have occurred; rather, it is meant to break the overwhelming control an unconscious or unwanted thought might have over a Christian. Those concerned about whether exposure-response prevention is sinful in itself should pray to God for guidance, and consult a priest or spiritual website if they are still unsure.

Remembering Grace

God knows that OCD sufferers don’t want to think the blasphemous thought for which they repent. He does not withhold or take away grace because of an involuntary thought; rather, He hopes that believers with obsessive-compulsive disorder will turn nearer Him in times of distress.

Ultimately, the Holy Spirit is more powerful than the OCD-based thoughts one may encounter. God knows the false, unwanted thoughts from those that a believer truly wants to think. And His grace, as possible OCD sufferer John Bunyan once remarked, is truly abounding.

Further Reading

If the subject of obsessive-compulsive disorder interests you, or if you’d like more help in your fight against OCD, try reading some of these additional articles on obsessive-compulsive disorder.

The copyright of the article When OCD Stains Religion in Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is owned by Kenneth Burchfiel. Permission to republish When OCD Stains Religion in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Feb 28, 2009 6:59 PM

Guest :

Your reference to John Bunyan is very intriguing. It certainly helps to understand Pilgrim's Progress in a different perspective. But I also wonder if OCD isn't related, as per your excellent article, to certain theological perspectives on forgiveness, the potential to lose one's salvation ("once saved, always saved"), and the fear that Jesus maybe return just after I've sinned, leaving me behind. Maybe Job's wife was OCD as well when she advised him to "curse God and die!"
Thanks for a very interesting article. Keep the faith! - MS

Mar 1, 2009 3:28 AM

Kenneth Burchfiel :

Glad you enjoyed it; soli Deo gloria. You're right to assert that OCD can cause one to re-evaluate their view of salvation; I would imagine that many gravitate towards the principle of eternal security so as to reassure themselves that--yes--they are saved. I think God understands, though, that those with OCD or scrupulosity have thoughts that go beyond their control, and it seems to me that one blasphemous thought--especially an involuntary one--would not cause anyone to lose their grace. I would also look into Samuel Johnson and Martin Luther's experiences with what may have been OCD; their stories can be just as vivid as John Bunyan's.
By the way: as I mention in the article, much of the information comes from James Ciarrochi's excellent book, "The Doubting Disease." If this topic interests you, I would definitely advise picking it up and looking through it.
Keep the faith!

Mar 1, 2009 6:26 PM

Guest :

Luther and OCD? Probably. See Chapter 1 of Mark U. Edwards, Jr., Luther's Last Battles" - The documentation he provides indicates possible OCD as well as other physical and mental problems. Then there is Erik Erikson in his book Young Man Luther. Freudian psychoanalysis of Luther, no less! Despite all of that, God used Luther mightily. Even the greatest saints are human and sometimes God allows infirmities to the extent that we can bear them.